The New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF) is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

organization run by

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. When founded it was the largest archeological project funded by a religious institution. It was founded by Thomas Stuart Ferguson who sought to show how the history of Mesoamerican cultures proved the historicity of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

. Ferguson however found evidence to the contrary and from 1961 he kept a low profile as a secretary to the foundation which then became associated with the

and renamed as the BYU-NWAF.

History

The NWAF was organized in 1952 for the purpose of supporting archaeological research into

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

cultures of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

. It was founded by Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Alfred V. Kidder and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

professor

Gordon Willey Gordon Randolph Willey (7 March 1913 – 28 April 2002) was an American archaeologist who was described by colleagues as the "dean" of New World archaeology.Sabloff 2004, p.406 Willey performed fieldwork at excavations in South America, Central A ...

. It was initially incorporated in California as a private organization with Ferguson in charge of fund-raising. The first project by the NWAF was headed by Pedro Armillas with archaeological studies along the

Grijalva River Grijalva River, formerly known as Tabasco River (, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River), is a long river in southeastern Mexico."Grijalva." '' Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', 3rd ed. 2001. ...

. As early as 1953, the NWAF received funding from

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

after Ferguson approached church leaders. LDS apostle

John Widtsoe John Andreas Widtsoe (; January 31, 1872 – November 29, 1952) was a Norwegian-American scientist, author, and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church ...

served on the board of directors. Ferguson had a passion for looking for archaeological evidences for the

and he reminded the church leadership that discovering Book of Mormon artifacts would assist in the church's missionary program. NWAF has always remained an archaeological foundation that includes many people not members of the LDS church. Initially the only Latter-day Saint on the foundation's advisory committee of five was M. Wells Jakeman. It also included Kidder, Willey, Armillas and Gordon F. Eckholm. The NWAF became part of BYU in 1961 and Ferguson was removed from the director position and Howard W. Hunter was put in his place. Hunter was affiliated with NWAF for the next 24 years. The original purpose of the foundation was described as: The foundation has since been heavily involved with archaeological studies at such locations as

Izapa Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it is best known for its occupation during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, ...

, San Isidro,

El Mirador El Mirador (which translates as "the lookout", "the viewpoint", or "the belvedere") is a large pre-Columbian Middle and Late Preclassic Maya, Preclassic (1000 BC – 250 AD) Maya civilization, Maya settlement, located in the north of the moder ...

Paso de la Amada Paso de la Amada (from Spanish: "beloved's pass") is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the Gulf of Tehuantepec, in the Mazatán, Chiapas, Mazatán part of Soconusco, Soconusco region of Mesoamerica. It is located in farmlan ...

, and most recently again at Chiapa de Corzo. As of 2009 the NWAF was directed by Donald W. Forsyth, Professor of Anthropology at Brigham Young University. He succeeded John E. Clark who was the director for many years.

Notes

References

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External links

NWAF website

BYU library page on NWAF archives
at th
Harold B. Lee Library

. Click "browse all" to see digitized issues of NWAF.
Thomas Stuart Ferguson papers and photographs
in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

{{Brigham Young University Organizations established in 1952 Archaeological organizations based in the United States Brigham Young University Mesoamerican studies 1952 establishments in Utah

History

See also

Notes

References

External links